


Happy New Year

by Azuwrite



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Childhood Sweethearts, Childhood Trauma, F/M, Falling In Love, Original Character(s), Science Experiments, Superpowers, Torture, Villains to Heroes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-20
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-05-26 03:09:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14991473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azuwrite/pseuds/Azuwrite
Summary: In this superhero alternate universe, Rey and Ben are forced to grow up when a mysterious organization takes away their childhood and treat them like nameless science projects. The two seek comfort only in each other and dream of the day they are finally free.





	1. The Day the World Came Crashing Down

**Author's Note:**

> I try to limit my warnings and tags; I would like to avoid spoiling anything for readers. There will certainly be torture (including torture of children), violence (this is a superhero universe), death, and eventual sexually explicit content (aye, we all do it).
> 
> Chapter one is relatively tame with only light violence.

*******************

Chapter one: The Day the World Came Crashing Down

*******************

 

[](https://ibb.co/jL2mh8)

January first, a day where most choose to ring in the new year with joy and hopes of a fresh start. People rejoiced with drinks in their hands and lips searching for a partner to press to. While most folks found it to be a momentous time for making memories and leaving problems behind, one little girl sat alone in her home; if you could call it that. To this little girl, January first became the worst day of her life.

            Rey was nearly 7, but not until February. She pretended to not feel the chill that drifted through the rotting boards of her home. She sat, curled up in one corner of the one-room shed that her family called home. She loved her corner, she looked at is as her very own room.

            She beamed with pride as she took in her space. Though it may smell like the rest of their home, like cigarettes and mildew, it was as nice as she could make it. Her formerly white  _101 Dalmatians_ blanket, complete with black polka dots, neatly folded on top a stained red sleeping bag. She had one case-less pillow, old and without any bounce left in it. She had doodles she created taped to the wall above her bedding, created on whatever form of parchment with whatever tools she could get her hands on. On top of her bedding was the most important thing she owned, the stuffed bear her grandmother had gotten her when she was born.

            That bear that she named Honey was the only friend she had in this whole wide world. The little brown bear was dressed in a light pink ballerina dress and a matching bow on its left ear. Every night since as far back as she could remember she would hold that bear so tightly to her chest as she wept. She hated being alone, but every night she would be left alone as her parents were out looking for their next chance to get high.

            Rey may have been able to leave more often, but once her parents realized she had superpowers, they forbid her from leaving without their permission.

            Now with tears twinkling in her eyes as fireworks burst in the air outside, Rey watched as she made Honey do twirls in the air with only her mind. Her telekinetic powers and her bear were just about her only source of entertainment and fun. This night was like any other and she should be used to it, yet she still sobs into her knees as her bear tumbles to the ground.

            The world was anything but quiet that night; however a sound caught her attention. Her head shot up from her tear soaked jeans and she wobbled to a standing position. It had sounded like a car had driven up and its engines turned off shortly after. Rey tried her best to dust the stray chocolate brown strands of her hair off of her face as she slowly made her way to a crack in the wall. There were three shiny black SUVs parked outside her home along with possibly six big men, also in black. Rey watched horrified as they made their way to the door.

            Rey gasped when she heard a hard knock on the shed door, her body trembling. She sunk back into her corner of the home, tightly squeezing her bear.

             _Please go away! I’m so scared. I want my mommy and daddy!_

Suddenly a soft and feminine voice broke her from her thoughts. “Hello? Rey, if you’re in there we would like to come in and talk to you.”

            Rey remained quiet, waiting for her to speak more.

            “My name is Phasma and you have no reason to be scared of us, sweetheart.” The lady said with the most sincere and sweetest tone. “If it’s okay, I’m going to let myself in. Nobody else will come, just me.”

            Rey whimpered, but she felt some comfort from this woman’s voice. She was also relieved that none of the scary men would be accompanying her.

            The door squeaked open and revealed a very tall woman. She was the prettiest lady Rey had ever seen. She watched as the platinum blonde spotted her in her corner and slowly made her way over. The woman she now knew as Phasma was gentle in her movement and her words. Phasma knelt down beside the trembling girl, careful not to frighten her further.

            “Hi Rey.” Phasma froze in place, deciding what to say before continuing. “Happy new year.” She then placed a leather-covered hand on Rey’s shoulder.

            The sudden touch made Rey flinch, but she quickly relaxed. Nobody ever takes the time to say such things, as small as it may seem, to her. This woman made Rey feel very comfortable and safe. Was it really that easy to gain her trust? Rey cracked a small shaky smile across her dirt-smudged face.

            Phasma smiled in return, a warm nurturing smile. She then slid her hand off of Rey’s shoulder to remove the glove. She then slowly reached her hand back towards her, in hopes she’d take it. Rey stared at her outstretched hand with wide scared eyes for what seemed like ages. Rey’s body began to tremble uncontrollably once again as her head dipped down between her knees.

            “M…Mummy!” Rey’s voice squeaked out.

            “Oh honey! We’re taking you to your parents! They’re waiting for us and you’re going to be in such good care.” Phasma spoke excitedly toward the small girl.

            Rey’s head shot up and her reddened eyes reached Phasma’s icy blues. Rey rubbed away the trails and tears with the sleeve of her dirty long-sleeved shirt before speaking, “Really? We’re going to see mummy and daddy?”

            Phasma showed a bright white smile and took Rey’s hand into her own. “Yes, they’re waiting for us. Rey, your life is about to change for the better!” The words were spoken with such confidence and positivity. It was intoxicating and exhilarating.

            Rey rose to her feet with the help of Phasma’s strong grip on her hand. Rey released her hand from their hold to briefly dust off her dirty overalls and make her way to her shoes that rested next to the entrance. She quickly slipped the worn out pink Converse, no doubt stolen by her parents, over her dusty socks.

            Once her shoes were laced up and in place, Rey shot up and ran over to Phasma’s side, taking her hand in her own. In Rey’s other hand she held her stuffed bear. The duo reached the entrance to the shed and Rey took one last look at the place she’d called home before a smile brushed over her freckled face. This life of squalor was now behind her.

            “I have my men with me, they’re outside waiting for us. Don’t be scared, they’re here to protect us.” Phasma said with a smile and a light squeeze of Rey’s hand.

            Rey nodded and they walked through the doorway. Outside there were multiple men in black battle-ready attire, guns of various sizes and uses strapped on their backs, hips, and just about anywhere you could conceal a weapon. Rey gulped as she tightened her grip on Phasma’s hand. Phasma offered the girl a comforting smile before they made their way to a black van and watched as one of the men lifted the back hatch.

            Within the van Rey spotted rows of comfortable rows of seats along each side. Phasma helped her into the back of the van and Rey quickly chose a seat near one of the blacked-out windows. As she buckled herself in the lovely blonde sat just next to her. They weren’t alone, they were joined by one other person. This person in question was a surprisingly young man, maybe in his teens, with the palest skin she’s seen. The young man buckled himself in across from the two ladies, pushing his fiery red hair from his eyes and staring down the young girl.

            Rey gulped staring back into his fierce blue eyes. He was well built for his age even with all the armor covering him up. He gave Rey a surprising half smile and her heart fluttered in response. She tried to ignore the little girl squealing inside, overreacting over a young man smiling at her like that as returned a soft smile.

            They had been driving for a little while through the big city of Addealas. Though Rey had been born and raised in the biggest city in the northwest, she hardly knew it. She had lived in homeless shelters, shacks, under bridges, trailer parks, and any other filthy place that was hidden away in the artsy and progressive city she grew up in. She hardly left these depressing places and only for special occasions. The city lights flew by as the made their way to the outskirts soon coming upon the famous sign that read, “Welcome to the jewel of the Northwest: Addealas, where the native Addealads once thrived on the abundant fish and natural resources, we now thrive on the ports and financial resources of our modern age.”

            Rey gave a small wave to the city drifting out of view in her head, not knowing if she’d ever see it again. The van was now surrounded by the areas lush evergreens; Rey could nearly smell the icy pines from where she sat. When she peered across from her, the young man was still watching her. After several moments of contemplation, the young man finally spoke up.

            “You excited to leave that life behind you, kid?” A sideways smile pricked his cheeks.

            Rey hesitated for a moment then smiled back, “Yes sir. I’m excited to see my mum and dad again.” She hugged her bear as the man’s smile started to cross entire mouth and widen.

            The man chuckled lightly and leaned in toward her saying, “That’s a cute little accent you got there. I wasn’t expecting that.”

            In that short sentence he spoke, Rey’s heart sank. She shifted away from Phasma’s side and a renewed feeling of absolute terror took over her body. She curled her knees to her chest and started sobbing quietly to herself.

            The realization that these people weren’t aware of the accents her family had told Rey everything she needed to know. She wasn’t being taken to her parents and she may never see them ever again. She found herself too scared to do anything about her situation, her powers simply weren’t strong enough.

            The young man looked up at Phasma, confused about the girl’s sudden change in behavior. Phasma glared back, her eyes now icy daggers, knowing just how he’s fucked up. Finally realizing his mistake, the man leaned back and scoffed, staring out the window.

            Rey didn’t know where she was headed, but it was far away from Addealas, far from the little shed she called home, and far from her family. They continued driving for what seemed like ages, deep in the dark forests and up and down the hilly terrain. Just as Rey began to feel groggy, heavy eyelids threatening to fall, the van slowed and came to a stop.

            At this point the friendly charade was over and the young man gripped her forearm tightly in his hand once her buckle was undone. Rey winced in pain knowing that it would result in some serious bruising. The man dragged her out of the van and her new home was revealed to her in the dim light of dawn. The most noticeable building stood before them, ugly and futuristic, towering over them. The property was huge with multiple buildings spread across the perfectly kept yards; Rey could practically smell the construction it was so new.

            As they approached the building Rey looked around, there were guard towers surrounding the entire property and they were all manned. A cold shiver jolted down her spine.

            _What is this place?!_

Rey was dragged through the glass doors of the tall buildings, through the maze of hallways, then up an elevator until they reached their destination. To Rey’s surprise, it looked like any other doctor’s office, complete with waiting room, magazines, and a play area for kids.

            Suddenly Rey’s attention was broken when a completely average looking man in a lab coat came into the room. He had to be in his 40s or 50s with greying hair, fresh wrinkles, recently showing beer gut, and grandpa glasses. The man walked over to them, clipboard in hand, and looked her up and down while a scary smile crept onto his face.

            “Hux, I take it this is the new specimen?” Excitement oozing in each word. The red-headed man gave a short nod to the doctor.

            _Specimen?!_

            Panic took over as the images of what ‘specimen’ could mean for her time here, Rey belted out a blood curdling scream. Everyone looked down at her in shock as the girl started yanking her arm that was still within Hux’s grasp. She gave it all the strength she had to pull for, but to no avail. Rey suddenly felt a jolt of what she could only describe as static across her whole body, paralyzing her briefly before she continued she fight.

            “I want my mummy and daddy! Let go of me! I don’t want to be here!” She screamed, anger heating her face in contrast to the cold tears that ran down her face.

            Suddenly the static feeling returned, but this time it came with a burning sensation on the back of her head, as if someone was watching her. She froze in place as she looked over her shoulder in the direction of this sensation. When she turned she stared at a glass panel leading to another room where she saw the source of the stare so intense it nearly made her knees buckle beneath her.

            The one staring directly back at her was a boy, a few years older than her. It felt as though time and stopped as she felt the need to take in his appearance. He was tall for his age, no doubt, and on the skinnier side. He was pale with long features, most noticeable was his long unique nose. His lips were a lovely shade of pink and full. He didn’t have as many freckles as she did, but they were noticeably spread widely across the entirety of his face. To round of his face was his beautifully thick shoulder-length jet black hair. As weird as it may have seemed, he was the most beautiful person Rey had ever seen and she couldn’t stop staring, couldn’t help but feel drawn to him

            _Who is that?_

* * *

 

            A sudden sensation of static traveled across his body as he approached the steel door ahead, a guard just behind him. The sensation sent a chill throughout his body, freezing him in place for a brief moment.

            “Keep moving boy!” The guard threatened in a harsh and impatient tone.

            He knew better than to argue by this point. He had only been here for a week, but knew the consequences of talking back: the body of a gun against your head, a Taser to the body, a lashing on the back, to name a few. He’s already had enough torture to last him a lifetime and certainly didn’t want it to start this early in his morning.

            They reach the door and he pulls it open to reveal the “kid room”, the room that he spends his time early in the mornings, sometimes with the other kids in this hellhole. There was a television in the upper corner of the room that always played the various seasons of _Scooby Doo_ on a loop. The room also had age-appropriate books and magazines, toys, and crafts. He always chose to spend the time seated on the green sofa staring through the television screen, deep in thought.

            As the guard stood him in front of one of the end tables, as he always did, he undid his high-tech handcuffs. The boy rubbed his wrists after the cuffs were off until he heard a loud commotion coming from his left. He gently lifts his head to his left to peer through the glass panel, the static sensation coming back to him. He took in the scene before him; a grungy, but quite charming little girl struggled against the grip of the one he came to know as Hux, the snobby son of someone important around the place.

            Suddenly, as if she felt the same sensation he did, the ratty girl looked up to meet his gaze. Once their eyes locked together he could feel his heart thump at a faster rate in his chest. It was like he knew her, though he knew he would instantly recognize the cute little girl before him. She stared at him with fierce cat-like eyes, that seemed to have two colors, a lovely shade of green on the outside with what looked like sunflowers around her pupils.

            _Heterochromia Iridis?_ He wondered to himself.

            She had cute mousey features: petite nose, a plump lower lip, high cheek bones, and a wide-set jaw, all dusted with freckles, especially on the nose. Her hair was a beautifully warm shade of brown that was a tangled mess falling from the bun a top her head.

            He noticed the shining stream of tears running down her reddened cheeks. As their eyes were locked for what seemed to be forever he noticed Hux’s hand raise in response to the girl’s lashing out. The urge to protect the girl took over, prepared to experience the consequences of his coming actions, the boy used his telekinetic powers as he nodded his head downward. Hux bent at the waist and his face slammed into a table in the waiting area, he was out cold.

            A smug smile took place on the boys face as everyone looked directly at him in shock. The guard who brought him to the kid room stood behind him, frozen in shock only briefly before taking out his Tazer. With a push of the button the boy came shaking to the hard blue carpeting below.

 


	2. Just Another Barcode

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey experiences her first day in this strange new place, all while getting to know the boy who had protected her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I try to limit my warnings and tags; I would like to avoid spoiling anything for readers. There will certainly be torture (including torture of children), violence (this is a superhero universe), death, and eventual sexually explicit content (aye, we all do it).
> 
> Chapter two contains physical abuse against children.

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Chapter two: Just Another Barcode

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[](https://ibb.co/bKT4kT)

After the events of the waiting room the girl experiences her first day in hell. They strip her of her clothes and her bear and throw her into an all-too white bathroom and had her shower in an icy cold bathroom. After she was cleaned up and in her matching grey sweatshirt and sweatpants, she was taken to a cafeteria-like room. Having the life she had before coming here, devouring a bowl of Cheerios, she briefly felt like she was in heaven. Only for a moment, she thought that maybe this wasn’t the worst thing ever. She quickly realized how wrong she was once breakfast was over.

            Once she was done with her cereal, some guards took her to a room with what looked like a chair you’d see in a dentist’s office, but with intimidating black leather straps adorning it. Surrounding the chair-of-impending-pain was a velvet red curtain, a small black stool and a small table with tools on it. Rey swallowed hard as panic and fear settled deep into her stomach.

            “If you cooperate, this will be a lot less painful.” The guard told her in a rough assertive tone.

            As much as Rey wanted to fight back she just nodded in submission and sat in the god awful chair. She bit her lip hard to avoid showing her fear and tears to these people. She refused to cry another tear before them. She clenched her eyes shut as hard as she could as the guard tightly strapped her into the death-chair, she could already feel some of her limps going numb from how tightly she was strapped in.

            Rey sat in that chair for several minutes as she fidgeted with her fingernails, keeping her eyes shut. She breathed in and out slowly to keep herself from panicking. After several more minutes the sound of the steel door opening caught Rey’s attention. She opened her eyes and saw a tanned short muscled man in a lab coat approach her caring a small case. He sat in the stool next to her, setting the little black case onto the small table. He opened the case revealing what looked like black ink and…a tattoo gun?

            The man hooked up all of his equipment and pulled out a piece of paper with a barcode on it. He used the barcode to create a stencil and placed it gently onto the inner uppermost part of her right forearm. Rey looked down at the varied sized lines that rest on her arm with a measly ‘22’ underneath.

            “Alright, Number 22, the less you struggle the faster this’ll go. Do you understand?” The man asks dryly, looking deep into her scared eyes.

            Rey nods her head in agreeance then looks back up at the shiny metallic ceiling above. She was almost seven and she was about to have a tattoo? What was this place?! Then she hears it, the tattoo turns on. The sudden sound of the buzzing almost makes her lose her composure, but she forces herself to relax and smash her eyes shut in expectation of the needle.

            Then she feels it, the sting of the needle in her forearm. Rey clamps her teeth down on her lip and balls left hand into a tight fist. She WILL NOT give them the satisfaction of the smallest sound from her mouth or the tears from her eyes, she refuses. She takes the time to think of the boy she saw that morning,

            The way everyone reacted, he must have been the one to slam Hux’s smug face into the table. But how? Did he have powers too? He must if he was able to do that with just a nod of his head. But, that would mean he had telekinetic powers like her, wouldn’t it? The thought that somebody else with powers, especially the same as hers, was in the same building as her made her scream with joy. Would she see the boy again? There were four other kids of various ages older than her in the cafeteria that morning, all sitting far from each other, but none were the boy.

            _I wish I could thank him. I wish I knew his name._ Rey thought to herself as the features of the boy stuck in her head.

 

* * *

 

            Unfortunately after the tattoo was cleaned up and dressed, things got worse for Rey. They took her to the room she would know as the torture room during her time here. Rey kept her promise to herself to not scream or cry, despite how nearly impossible as that was. She held it all in as she was electrocuted, whipped, and told what a worthless piece of shit she was. She found that her powers were begging to come out during the process of her torture. She pulled electrical cords loose, knocked glass tubes shattering to the ground, and sent shards circling around the room.

            She could hear the scientists whispering amongst themselves about how similar their powers were. _Who? The boy?_ Rey wondered to herself. They spoke about how their powers seemed to be in perfect sync and matching each other perfectly, whatever that meant.

            Once they released her from her restraints, the guards dragged her out of the room as she was too weak to walk on her own. She was brought to the cafeteria again. Lunch time. Rey’s heart fluttered with excitement at the thought of eating. She wobbled slowly to the serving trays to see what was for lunch and a smile spread across her lips. Turkey sandwich, banana, milk, and peas. She happily took her tray and looked around the room, but to her disappointment he wasn’t there.

            Right as she wandered along the edge of the cafeteria to find a spot she felt the static feeling from earlier. Her head jolted up as the cafeteria door swung open, revealing a very large guard carrying someone by the back of their shirt. He throws the person to the wooden floor like they were a piece of used tissue paper. Rey stares quietly at the pile of black laying on the ground at the cafeteria doors before realizing who it was.

            _Ah! The boy!_

Filled with anger and the desire to fight back, but knowing not to, the boy jumps to his feet in a huff and grabs a grey tray and plops down at one of the lunch tables. The boy suddenly pauses and looks up then looks around until he makes eye contact with her. After a few minutes of constant eye contact he looks back to his tray.

            Rey looks around for a moment before making the decision to sit with the boy. She slowly wobbles over to his bench and places her tray next to his and gently flings her injured legs over the seat. He gives her a worried expression and gives a quick look around before speaking to her.

            “You need to be careful, new girl. They don’t like if we talk and interact too much.” He mutters with concern in his voice.

            Rey can’t help but feel a little joy finally getting to hear his voice and talk to him after thinking about it all day.

            “My name is Rey.” She says with the biggest and stupidest grin on her face, showing her one missing top front tooth.

            The boy stared at her in disbelief for a moment. _How can she possibly be this happy and positive?_ The boy asked himself. Then he let the smallest chuckle out as he noticed the giant gap in her teeth. Rey stared in confusion for a moment before remembering her tooth came out a couple days ago and joining him a little laugh.

            The boy quickly looked around one last time before he spoke again, “My name is Ben. I came here a week ago.”

            Rey smiled at him in response. “It sounds weird, but this is probably more human interaction than I got even before coming here. I should be used to being lonely, but I hate being alone.” Rey didn’t know why she was sharing all of this with Ben, but she felt oddly comfortable with him, like they had been friends their entire lives.

            Ben looked over at her with an unimpressed expression, propping his head onto his hand. “Not me. I hate crowds and people. I thrive when I’m alone. It’s probably because I come from a very social family who surrounds themselves with other people.” He didn’t really know why he was sharing all of this with her, but here he was doing just that.

            The two remained quiet for a moment, not wanting to pry into each other lives and losing their only friend in the whole wide world. Ben looked over and saw the plastic wrapped around her right forearm just under her rolled up sweatshirt.

            “Damn, gave you your barcode already?” He asked casually.

            Rey looked down at her right arm and decided to pull her sleeve down to cover it. “It didn’t hurt that much.” She said with as much nonchalance as she could muster in hopes she’d sound tough. “I’ve promised myself I won’t cry or let out any cries when they are around. So far so good.” Rey mimicked his posture, propping her head onto her hand.

            “Mine is in the same place as yours, but on my left arm.” Ben pulled up the sleeve of his black turtle-neck to show her before quickly pulling it back down. “It stung like a bitch.”

            Rey flinches at his use of the word. She wasn’t unfamiliar with hearing words like that, but she’s heard them yelled so often that she can’t help but flinch. Ben takes notice of her reaction to his word usage.

            “Oh. Sorry, I’m sure you’re not used to hearing swearing. There’s a lot of it here.” Ben says scratching the back of his head, feeling slightly guilty.

            “No, don’t be sorry. I actually have heard a lot of swearing throughout my life. I just associate it with angry yelling.” She says in a slight daze.

            Now Ben feels really guilty. “Shit…uh I mean…sorry. I didn’t realize.” He looks off into the distance, avoiding eye contact. “I can’t really relate. I had really relaxed parents in a fancy house in the forest on the outskirts of Addealas.”

            Rey’s eyes lit up in excitement. “I’m from Addealas too! Well, I mean, I lived in homeless shelters and places like that in Addealas my whole life, but I love it.” Rey gives Ben a beaming smile.

            _Who is this girl and how is she still smiling?!_ Ben thinks to himself in complete shock. Then a puzzled look came over his face. “Wait, if you’re from Addealas, why do you have a British accent?” His brows furrowed as he asked.

            Rey giggled quietly before responding. “My parents and nana were from London. My nana moved with my parents to Addealas in hopes that they could get out of their drug habits, but it just continued. My family have accents and they were, for the most part, the only people I spoke with. Here I am, accent and all.” Rey says still smiling.

            _Fuck. This is some deep shit._ Ben thinks before the sound of a guard blowing a whistle catches everyone’s attention.

            “Gym time!” The guard yells out to the group of kids. “Get into your gym clothes!”

            Rey watched as the other kids grabbed clothes off of a pile of laundry sitting next to the restrooms. Ben gave her a half smile and a nod before he walked over to the boy’s bathroom, grabbing a shirt and shorts before heading into change. Rey followed suit, grabbing a pair of slick black gym shorts and a grey, white, blue, and green Addealas Addbucks sports tee. Ry stuck her tongue out. Being from Addealas, everyone loved the Addbucks, so she wasn’t the biggest fan. Rey ran into the bathroom to get changed.

 

* * *

 

            As per the daily routine, Ben joined the other similarly dressed kids at the entrance to what he knew as the gym. He was well aware of Rey’s light steps behind him though he tried not to seem too taken by the freckle-faced bad ass he just met. Once the double-doors opened to show the sheer paradise that was the exercise equipment, Ben let out a sigh of sweet relief. This was Ben’s favorite part of the day, when he could let out all of his frustration and anger.

            Ben picked up his pace and made his way to the punching dummy, slipping on his familiar fingerless gloves. He let a stifled gust of hot air through his lips and thought about what had happened earlier that day. He was taken from the “kid room” early for an extra-long torture session, ultimately missing his much needed thinking time and his breakfast. Ben tried to convince himself that he was angry about it, for taking the fall for a little girl he’d never met prior to today, but he found himself angry for a different reason. She, Rey, was the youngest person he’s even seen here and they were going to do the same things to her as they did to him, a mere child with so much innocents left in those frightened yellow and green eyes.

            As the thought of Rey’s goofy smile popped into his brain, a spike of deep and hot anger brewed in the pit of his stomach. The expression of an animal fighting for its life spread across his face and he let out a low guttural growl as he swung his fist directly into the side of the dummy’s rubbery head. The dummy came crashing to the ground with a loud bang causing the room to grow quiet. Ben could feel the eyes of everybody in the room look at him as he panted deeply. Only second later everyone went back to what they were doing as he picked the dummy up from the ground.

            The brief image that had just popped into his head appeared again and he slowly peered around the room. There were two tall boys on the court playing baseball, a blonde pig-tailed girl in the corner jumping rope, a short squat boy doing pull-ups, a dark-skinned girl with the most perfect curls on her head ran laps around the perimeter, and an overcompensation-of-a-man sat guard at the door. Ben looked to the last place he hadn’t and saw Rey in the furthest corner of the room, looking lost, she kicked at the ground making a squeak with her grey and hot-pink sneakers.

            “Do something girl!” The meat-head guard yelled, his face glowing a deadly red, in Rey’s direction. Every child in the room violently flinched at the booming voice then quickly went back to what they were doing with even more vigor.

            Rey scurried to the other side of the gym to the full-body dummies before taking a quick peak of Ben over her left shoulder. Ben sighed and headed in her direction, all while trying to shake off the anger building from watching the fear devour her as that man screamed at her. He made it to her side without giving her a sideways glance or acknowledgement. He could feel Rey’s gaze on him as he picked up a sturdy wood staff and gripped it thoughtfully in his hands. He suddenly made eye contact with her only to break it to look at the option of wooden “weapons” to the right of the dummies.

            The two suddenly heard the loud stomps of the guard on the other side of the gym making their way toward them. Rey nodded quickly in Ben’s direction and picked up a wooden staff too. They could hear the guard halt in place and give a gruff scoff as he wondered back to his post. Ben sighed, twirling the staff in his hands and striking the dummy, swift and agile. Rey’s eyes grew wide before a smile appeared onto her face. From the corner of his eye, Ben could see Rey begin to practice on the dummy in front of her as well. They beat the dummies in complete silence with bright smiles on their faces and sweat running down their foreheads, side by side.

            Finally the guard was switched out for a more even-tempered and fit one who came in with bottled waters in his tight muscled arms. He made his way to each of the kids, tossing water bottles to them or to the ground next to them. When he made his way to Rey and Ben he gently placed the water bottle into Rey’s sweaty palm then stared down Ben. The guard scoffed in his direction and tossed the water bottle to the ground before walking back to the double-doors.

            “What was that about?” Rey whispered as she watched Ben kneel down to grab his water.

            Ben remained knelt down as he twisted the cap and took a long gulp of room-temperature water before replying, “The hell if I know. People don’t like me in general I guess…” His words trailed off as he noticed pink and red scars and burns along Rey’s legs. _Cigarette burns?_ Ben wondered in his head. Rey looked down, realizing why he went so quiet, but instead of running away she felt comfortable enough to stay.

            Ben looked up to try and meet her gaze, but she looked off into the distance elsewhere as her face reddened. Ben could tell she felt embarrassed or ashamed, though he couldn’t imagine why she would. This girl must have had a pretty shitty childhood so far and now it’s only getting worse. Guilt and anger danced in Ben’s conscious as the sudden and unexpected need to comfort her came to him. Ben gently reached for her calf, the now familiar feeling of electricity shot through their touch and made her flinch as her gaze darted down to where his comforting hand came into contact with her leg.

            After a few brief seconds Ben rubbed his thumb gently across a light pink burn scar and looked up at her again. “You said your parents were addicts…” Before Ben could finish his sentence Rey pulled back from his hand. He stared up at her, startled by the sudden disconnect of the touch.

            “Don’t!” She said as aggressively as she could without being too loud. “My parents were addicts, but they never hurt me! Not even once!” Rey’s eyes filled with fiery anger and wet tear drops as she took a couple more steps back.

            Ben gulped and rubbed a hand behind his head, “Hey, I didn’t mean…” He was cut off yet again, but this time by the guards whistle.

            “Back to your bunks!” The guard yelled out before crossing his arms.

            Ben watched the guard momentarily before turning his attention back to Rey. He looked up, but she was gone, already making her way to where the guard and the other kids were. “I’m sorry.” Ben whispered, head hanging down.

            _Fuck! You made her cry you idiot! She’s never going to want to talk to you now!_ Ben scolded himself. But, maybe it was for the best? Ben doesn’t have relationships, he thrived on his own and relationships made you weak. Rey would have just come out disappointed, wouldn’t she? Ben, feeling a bit sorry for himself, dragged himself to the gym entrance, prepared for a night of dwelling on it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are with chapter two :) I hope you all enjoy! Feel free to let me know what you thought!


	3. I Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey grow closer through their powers as well as friends, making promises, and hoping for a better future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I try to limit my warnings and tags; I would like to avoid spoiling anything for readers. There will certainly be torture (including torture of children), violence (this is a superhero universe), death, and eventual sexually explicit content (aye, we all do it).
> 
> Chapter three contains physical abuse against children.

*******************

Chapter three: I Promise

*******************

 

[](https://ibb.co/bxA0LT)

Rey, cuffed and exhausted, made her way down a long winding hallway, finally being told to stop at a door that would now be her room. The door was a blinding white and as her eyes trailed just a short distance down the hall she saw another door, but this one was as black as black gets. A quick jolt of static came across her body as she watched. She wondered if it was _his_ room. Rey twisted her attention back to the guard that was with her as her took out a ring of keys in various colors and as predicted, he grasped a dainty white key in his hand and stuck it into the door. The door clicked open and the man motioned her to enter.

            Rey entered the room and was followed by the loud sound of the door slamming shut. She leaned her hands against the slot she knew would eventually open to have her cuffs removed. Once the cuffs were off she took the room in; the walls were completely covered in mirrors and the floor and ceiling were a matching slick midnight blue. She didn’t have a lot prior to this, so it didn’t come as a shock to her at the bareness of the room. There was a bed, a chair, a desk, a toilet, and a toilet. If anything, it was more than she had before coming here.

            There was a large fuzzy white rug in the center of the room. Rey walked to the center, feeling the soft fabric under her toes. She breathed in lightly, clenching her eyes shut, and suddenly it all came crashing down. Rey dropped to the floor and sobbed into her hands, not holding back in the slightest. She cried until nothing else came out. She curled into a ball on the soft rug and laid motionless until the clang on the door indicated it was dinner time.

            Rey stumbled to the door to grab her tray of food: A salad, baked chicken, mashed potatoes, and a cup of milk. Rey was a food person, but in that particular moment all she could do was force herself to eat it all as tears again began to slide down her cheeks. Once the tray was empty she slid it back to the guard and made her way to her bed that, to her surprise, was rather comfy. She laid a top the covers staring at the starry-looking sky above and placed her right hand on the mirrored wall next to her.

            Like the moment Ben touched her leg, Rey felt the warm electricity tangle her body as her fingers traced the mirror. It was comforting and familiar. She shifted on to her right side, facing the mirror, and swallowed hard. It felt like he was right next to her. Could he be in the room right next to her? What was this electric feeling drawing them together?

            Rey’s brows furrowed together as she plopped back down on to her back. All the debilitating thoughts decided to invade her mind all at once. Would she be here for the rest of her life? Would she ever see her family again? Is this what her future is?

            Rey’s eyes watered once again.                                                                  

            _I’m alone. All alone._

 

* * *

 

            The next morning the daily routine continued as it always did. The kids were gathered into the roll call room, but this time with a static in the air; it was a very simple and plain room with a white board, desks, and bookshelves. The kids remained in their sleepwear and their handcuffs as the guards have them stand in a line. Ben took a second to look at the end of the line where Rey stood, her eyes bloodshot and head slumped downward staring at her knees and toes sticking out from under her light-pink nightgown.

            Ben’s attention was taken away when the one guard started barking out numbers. “Number Fifteen!” He yelled as the meek blonde-haired girl squeaked a, “Here.”

            Ben continued to watch Rey, as though she would do anything of interest beside stand there gloomily, completely phasing out the booming voice of the guard.

            “Number Twenty-Two!” The guard barked out as Ben flinched with familiarity of the words.

            “Here…” Ben muttered as he heard his voice echo in unison with another. His eyes darted toward the source, Rey.

            “Quit fucking with me!” The guard threatened both the children. Rey and Ben stood still and silent in shock as the guard’s face started to take on a red hue. The guard first made his way to Ben, grabbing his arm in a nearly bone-crushing grip. Ben winced as the man twisted his arm in his grip. “Where’s your barcode, boy!” He practically screamed.

            “Left forearm.” Ben muttered before wincing once again as the man twisted his arm to view his tattoo.

            “Twenty-Two.” The man said quietly before looking at a red-headed female guard. She nodded in response and made her way toward Rey.

            Ben’s eyes flicked over to where Rey was standing, clearly shaking in fear of what they’ll do to her. _Please don’t hurt her._ Ben thinks as he grows frantic.

            The lady stood before Rey’s frightened form. “Where is your tattoo?” The lady asked calmly, but firmly, hands behind her back.

            “On my right forearm, miss.” Rey’s words came out a wobbly mess. The lady made her way behind Rey, but didn’t place a finger on her, but to move her sleeve out of the way.

            “Twenty-Two, sir.” The woman called back to the guard still gripping bens reddening arm.

            “What the fuck?!” The man yelled out before shoving Ben to the ground. Without the use of his arms, Ben forced himself to fall on to his right shoulder, sending a shock of pain through the right side of his body.

            The man leaves the room with the other guards to sort out the issue, leaving the woman guard to watch the children. The lady slowly makes her way to Ben’s side and gently helps him to his feet. Afterwards she doesn’t say anything and wonders back to the front of the room, her arms remaining behind her back. Ben gulps looking in Rey’s direction, who to his surprise, is staring directly at him too. The air is tense in the room as the other children shake in fear, Rey trembles at the thought of being punished, and Ben hopes that this isn’t taken out on her.

            A few minutes trickle by as the door to the room flies open and the guards come filing in. “There was a mistake in the system. It’s being fixed currently. Which means its tattoo time for the girl.” The angry man bellows as he makes his way toward Rey.

            Ben’s heart leaps in his chest out of fear.

            _I can’t believe I’m about to do this._

            Ben releases a smug chuckle under his breath. The guard stops in his tracks and focuses his attention to the boy. He continues to chuckle, it growing louder and louder until he finally speaks. “You guys can’t even count? How pathetic!”

            Every set of eyes in the room were now on him as he cackled out loud. The shock of his actions soon wore off as the guard made his way down the line of kids to stand right before Ben, eyes filled with uncontrollable rage.

            _It had to be a day when we had an angry Neanderthal for a guard._ Ben thought as he watches the veins in the guards head twitch.

            “Looks like you’ll be getting the tattoo in her place, boy!” The guard spits at him before kneeing Ben in the gut. The guard watched as Ben feel to his knees, struggling to take in air. “You’ll be missing T.V. time and breakfast again. Good job!” He yells one last time before swinging a kick into Ben’s ribs.

            Ben curled on the ground, trying to regain his composure, but finding it impossible as his sides and stomach throbbed. The woman put a hand on the angry guards shoulder and stepped in front of him.

            “I’ll take this pile of garbage to the parlor to get his tattoo. You can take the kids to the waiting room.” She oozed out with as much disgust as she could muster.

            “Good,” is all the man responded with as he snapped his finger to get the kid’s attention before pointing to the door. The guard then spat at Ben’s writhing body once more before walking out the door.

            The group of children slowly made their way to the door, Rey being at the back of the line. She gave a glance over at Ben who was now coughing profusely before she brought herself to leave the room. It was just Ben and the female guard left in the room and once his coughing subsided she helped him to his feet. They made their way down the many halls toward the tattoo parlor.

            “You’re stupid, even for a psychic.” The guard muttered, never breaking her focus on the door they were headed toward.

            Ben chuckled lightly, though he soon found it hurt more than it was worth. “Yeah, I’m realizing.” He sighed as he realized what all of this meant. A longer, tougher torture session, no doubt, no breakfast, and no down time to the white-noise of the television. Despite thinking this, he also wondered if she’d be okay.

            “Well, for what it’s worth, that girl is lucky to have someone looking out for her. Lord knows she didn’t have that before coming here. Her parents sold her to this place.” The lady scoffed, shaking her head in disbelief.

            Ben shut his eyes tightly hearing such a sickening truth be told.

            _How could somebody do that to their own daughter, especially Rey?_

* * *

 

Rey went through the morning like she had the day before, with Ben on her mind. He would be at lunch, right? Her thoughts danced weakly in her head as she stumbled out of the torture room. Her hair was wet from being water boarded and she still felt a chill from the shot they injected into her. She thought of the needle being inserted into her skin and the chilling effects it gave off. The drowning feeling of the water boarding only made the cold worse. She would have sworn the turned down the temperature of that room as the chill took over her whole body, her fingers had gone numb and her teeth chattered as her body and powers fought to bring her back to a comfortable temperature.

            She thought back to what they talked about deep in the background of that room. It was like last time, the doctors were clearly comparing her and Ben. They talked about how similar their powers were and how they seemed to grow at the same rate. Today they found that their powers helped them to fix the changes in body temperature they were experiencing, which was completely new to Rey and apparently to Ben too.

            Still sopping wet, Rey tumbled through the double doors of the lunch room, falling to her knees. Rey got to her feet as quickly as she could and made her way to the lunch trays: grilled cheese and tomato soup. She looked around the room and saw that Hux was the guard on duty in the lunch room today. When his eyes made contact with hers Rey quickly averted her gaze to the ground and found a spot alone at one of the benches. She tucked a stray hair behind her ear and began to eat her sandwich.

            Why did he make the guard angry this morning? Was it for her? Rey’s face flushed a light pink at the thought of him standing up for her yet again. Why would he do that? He didn’t even know her. Rey sighed out of guilt thinking about their last interaction. If he was really protecting her, how did she repay him? She got angry at him when he brought up her past abuse. He was only showing concern.

            A loud crash of the double doors broke Rey’s attention. It was like deja vu, really, as Ben toppled to the ground, bringing the static with him, the guard who had thrown him now leaving with a smug smile on his face. Rey’s eyes shot to where Hux stood, noticing his nostrils flare and eyes gleam with frustration. Hux stood straight from his relaxed position leaning against the hard concrete wall. Just as Ben was back up on his feet, dusting his pant legs off, Hux started his stride toward the raven-haired boy. Ben started to make his way to the lunch trays, close to where Rey sat.

            “Hey, freak!” Hux yelled out, standing before Ben with clenched jaw and fists. Ben looked up quickly to meet the icy eyes of the angry force before him. Within just a second, Hux’s fist made contact with Ben’s face. Ben came crumbling to the ground for fourth time that day as Hux strode back to his corner, cracking his neck along the way, a brilliant smile on his face.

            Rey shot out of her seat and ran to Ben’s side, grabbing his arm to help him up. Little did she know that Hux stopped his stride to his spot and looked back over his shoulder to watch Rey at Ben’s side. Ben’s eyes shot up to look at Hux before he yanked his arm out of Rey’s grasp.

            “Get lost, girl!” Ben yelled at her, his words soaked with venom and his eyes filled with hate. He pulled himself to his feet and sat at the opposite of the bench she was just at.

            Rey remained on the cold ground bellow, watching the boy she had come to look at as her only friend and protector? His face was hidden under his soaked hair and his big hands. Rey peered over to Hux who made his way back to his spot on the wall and fidgeted with some electronic device. Rey stood up with her head hung down as she made her way back to the bench.

            “I didn’t want him to hurt you.” Ben mumbled, just loud enough that Rey could hear him.

            Rey’s head shot up at the sound of his voice. She eyed him and though he’s usually emotionless, he looked sadder than she’s ever seen him. Rey didn’t know how to respond, she wasn’t even sure which time he was talking about. The time where he hurt Hux, the tattoo dilemma this morning, or just now when he pulled his arm away? Rey’s thoughts were interrupted when Ben spoke out again.

            “I’m sorry for assuming your parents had hurt you.” Ben said, his expression growing even darker. Had that been on his mind?

            “Don’t be sorry. My parents just weren’t as bad as people thought they were.” Rey said quietly, picking at her cuticles.

            Ben held back what he wanted to say, knowing what the female guard told him that morning. He decided he didn’t need to destroy this girls thoughts of her parents, so he just nodded in response.

            “I feel like I’m overdue to say thank you.” Rey stopped for a moment as she say a shine in Ben’s eyes. “For protecting me the day I got here, for this morning, and looking out for me. It’s more than I deserve and more than you should care to do.” Rey suddenly didn’t feel like her happy self. It was like she was drowning and dragging him down with her. It wasn’t fair.

            As if Ben could hear her thoughts or feel her guilt, he spoke, “Please don’t feel bad. I do it because I choose to. Don’t worry about it.” He grumbled with a slight smile tugging on his lips.

            Rey returned the smile, feeling a sting of tears in her eyes only out of sheer joy that she was talking to him again. Being with him seemed to be the only time she didn’t feel debilitating loneliness.  The rest of their day played out like it had the day prior, as they gave each other brief smiles and talking about their lives before coming here. Rey told him about her parent’s sellers or “friends” who’d burn her with their cigarettes as her parents were out or high in another corner of the room. Ben told her about how he was adopted and how he had a little sister who would be four years old and how he’d help his parents take care of her.

 

* * *

 

            The days turned into weeks and the days went the same way they always had: roll call, television time, shower, breakfast, the inevitable torture, lunch, gym, and then back to their bunks. Rey would head back to her room and cry to herself every night in crippling loneliness. As January drew to a close, Rey found that she no longer cried, but just got lost in thought as she lounged in the soft white chair in her room. Rey no longer cried, until February 22nd, her seventh birthday.

 

            February 22nd went the same way every other day went, but on this day Rey was very quiet and kept to herself. Ben picked up on the dreary mood she emitted and chose to give her concerned looks and not push her into talking to him about it.

            That night Rey was taken back to her room and she slowly kneeled down to the rug beneath her. The tears she hadn’t seen in nearly a month crept down her face, blurring her vision as she let the fall. Shortly after she gets to her room she feels the warm comforting static that she’d grown to love. He must be back in his room now too.

            Rey’s cries became a full-on meltdown as she crawled up onto her bed, soaking her pillow and gasping for air.

            _I’m all alone. So very alone._ Rey repeated over and over in her head as she wept. She felt electricity jolt up her limbs and a tingling in her brain. She held her breath for a moment before she heard a familiar voice surround her.

            “ _You’re not alone. I will always be here with you. I will always protect you. I promise, Rey._ ” The voice spoke with the most comforting tone she had ever heard, it made her heart melt.

            As comforting as it was, where did it come from?  Then an overwhelming feeling inside Rey told her to use her powers, something she found she hardly ever used lately. She closed her eyes tight and focused on her thoughts, it was worth it to try right?

            “ _B-Ben? Was that you?_ ” Rey asked, realizing the thought came out around her in the air like what she had heard a moment ago.

            _“Rey…you can reply? Does that mean you have telekinetic powers too?_ ” Ben’s soft voice replied. Rey was breathless. She was talking to him even though a wall separated them.

            _“It never came up. I can’t believe we have the same powers! I’ve hidden my powers my whole life! It feels like such a relief to use them…I feel…complete._ ” Rey almost felt embarrassed to say.

            _“That explains the scientists talking about another psychic in this place. I get it Rey, when you have powers, you aren’t you without them._ ” Ben stopped for a moment before continuing, “ _I’ve heard you cry in my mind every night when you first got here, but you eventually stopped crying. Tonight I heard you crying again and I heard your thoughts about being alone. I had to tell you…that you weren’t alone. That I’d protect you._ ” Ben’s voice came quietly, as if he were slightly embarrassed to say such things to her.

            “ _Did you mean it?_ ” Rey couldn’t help but ask, her face slightly burning.

            _“I promise. I promise, Rey._ ” Ben spoke so softly as Rey’s face got hotter and hotter.

            A smile spread across Rey’s face as she basked in the sound of his soft breaths. This was the best she had felt all day.

            _“If you don’t mind me asking. Why were you crying? You’ve seemed sad all day._ ” Ben asks.

            He picked up on that? Rey pulled her knees to her chest and giggled to herself. She was truly lucky to have him as a friend…friend. Rey began to blush, thanking her lucky stars that he couldn’t hear these thoughts. She couldn’t even imagine what he’d think if he knew she’s developed the very first crush she’d ever had on him.

            _“Today’s my birthday…”_ As the thought slipped out Rey could only feel her sadness deepen, her heart heavy in her chest.

            The air remained quiet for a few minutes before Rey could feel the sting of tears returning to her eyes. Rey let out a soft sob, burying her face into her arm.

            _“Hey, don’t cry Rey, please.”_ Ben pleaded gently, his voice tinted with a comforting warmth. Rey felt her heart race momentarily at how kind he was being to her. _“I’m sorry you’re spending your birthday here.”_

            Though she knew he couldn’t see her, Rey shook her head.

            _“The part that’s hardest for me is that my grandma always took me to this 50’s diner in the city on my birthday. She’d buy me a hotdog, French fries, and an ice cream Sunday.”_ Rey held back tears, processing the grief she felt. _“It was my favorite day of the year.”_

            Rey could hear Ben’s cautious breath, contemplating what to say next.

            _“Do you miss your grandma?”_ He asked, as obvious as an answer he realized it was.

            _“Whether or not I’m here, I wouldn’t have been able to go with her. She passed away last year.”_ Rey mumbled so softly in fear that she might crumble otherwise.

            _“I’m…I’m sorry Rey.”_ Ben whispered, at a loss of words.

            The two sat in their rooms in complete silence for possibly an hour before Ben decided to lighten the mood.

            _“Are you talking about the diner across the street from Chuck’s Pizzeria?”_ Ben asked with a bright smile on his face.

            Rey could hear the excitement in Ben’s voice and couldn’t help but smile along with him. She thought back to the diner and recalled the top-notch pizzeria across the street. She remembered the smiling face of the restaurant’s mascot, a long-eared bat, who wore a tie and checkered apron while carrying a platter with gooey pepperoni and cheese pizza. Rey had never been there, but she remembered watching the happy families go in and make happy memories in the large windows that spread largely across the walls. From afar she could see the tables were covered by a big sheet of drawing paper, accompanied by an empty tomato sauce can full of crayons. She had also heard that all of the employees wore fun accessories such as goofy hats, animal ears, or crazy headbands.

            _“Yeah, that’s the place.”_ Rey said with excitement in her chest. With how big of a city Addealas was, she didn’t expect Ben to know the diner she was talking about.

            _“I’ve never been to the diner, but I always noticed it when my family took us to the pizzeria.”_ Ben thought about the little diner and all he could remember was that it was gaudy, but charmingly cute. He also remembered it being pink, too pink. _“We should go.”_ He muttered suddenly.

            Rey froze in place. Did he really just say that? _“W-what?”_ She managed.

            _“We will get out of this place one day, I promise.”_ Ben said as Rey could feel with blush with the words. _“And when we do, we’ll go to the diner and the pizzeria!”_ Ben said, his excitement building.

            Rey’s face burned as she felt the brightest blush spread across her face. She had never heard him so positive. He wanted to escape with her some day and take her to all of these place? The longer she thought about it the more she realized how much she wanted it, a life with him outside these walls.

            _“The first thing you’ll do when we get out is eat pizza?”_ Rey giggled to herself, her face still flushed.

            Ben sighed with relief, thankful that she was back to her positive self and that she wanted to leave here with him. _“Hell yeah! I never knew I’d have to go so long without pizza!”_ Ben chuckled. _“What about you? What do you look forward to? Having a life outside of this place?”_

Rey felt her cheeks go rosy because she knew how silly her answer was, even compared to pizza. Embarrassingly, Rey admitted, _“I’m going to sound like the most generic girl to say this, but…I want to have a normal life like everyone else. I wanna fall in love, get married, and have a family someday.”_ As the air stilled and remained quiet for as long as Rey could bear, her skin screamed at her to stop embarrassing herself.

            _“Oh no. We have a hopeless romantic over here!”_ Ben teased. _“Rey, you didn’t strike me as the sort.”_ He chuckled, hoping to cover the nervousness in his voice.

            Rey’s defenses rose as she replied, _“What’s wrong with that? Lots of people just want to love and be loved in return!”_ She snapped, but with no hint of actual anger. She could hear Ben sigh and go silent for a moment.

            _“Love makes you weak. It’s pointless.”_ Ben muttered dryly.

            Rey found herself rolling her eyes at response as it was exactly what she’d expect him to say. Despite his negative response to what she had said she couldn’t help but feel overflowing with positive energy given their whole psychic conversation. Rey plopped down on her bed and got under her covers, feeling the warmness of her blankets around her along with the warmness from her chest.

            _“Well, if a street-rat like me can find love after we get out of here, then you can too!”_ She smiled to herself, feeling her lids grow heavy.

            The two continued their conversation until sleep took them in its arms. There was always tomorrow for the friendship to continue to bloom because they weren’t going anywhere, not without the other.

           

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Hope you enjoyed chapter three :) there will be many time jumps in the upcoming chapters! Next chapter Ben will be proving his promise to protect Rey to be true. Feel free to let me know what you thought! Have a great day! :) till next time!


	4. It Was Worth It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben makes good on his promise and the duo find themselves separated when Ben turns thirteen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I try to limit my warnings and tags; I would like to avoid spoiling anything for readers. There will certainly be torture (including torture of children), violence (this is a superhero universe), death, and eventual sexually explicit content (aye, we all do it).

*******************

Chapter four: It Was Worth It

*******************

 

[](https://ibb.co/d7d82J)

As he did every morning, Ben rose from his bed early, rubbing away at his foggy eyes. He stood and walked only long enough to plop down into the lounge chair, attempting to smooth the crazy nest that was his bedhead. He sighed groggily until he felt a stir in the air, coming to the relieving realization that it was only Rey waking up in the room next to his. Ben couldn’t help but smile at the thought of her and the conversations they shared last night through the use of their matching powers. His heart thumped thinking about how in sync they seemed to be.

            _“Good morning, sleepyhead.”_ Ben spoke quietly, attempting to bridge their minds together. Ben was met with a lengthy pause before he heard her groggy response.

            _“Morning…”_ Was all Rey could manage in a grumbly voice.

            Ben laughed out loud, his voice also rough from waking only moments ago. He could sense that his laughter caused her some embarrassment as he could practically feel the heat rushing to her cheeks, he smiled fondly at the thought.

            _“Hey! I’m not a morning person and we already have to get up early! We can’t all be like you, you wiener!”_ Rey grumbled at him, showing a little bit of that feisty personality he knew her to have when flustered.

            Ben sat in complete silence, processing what was just said. _“Did…did you just call me a wiener?”_ He barely made it through the thought before completely keeling over in laughter, causing Rey to become even more embarrassed.

            After Ben calmed her from her frantic embarrassment, they continued to chat amongst themselves until their day really started with the sound of a guard cracking open the handcuff slot open on their doors. That’s when Ben’s face grew serious, thinking about their conversation the night before. He promised to protect her and always be there for her and he meant every single word.

            Ben walked to the door resting his hands in the slot behind his back for the guards to handcuff him. He now knew the main doctor here as Dr. Darling; an ironic name really. He needed to talk to him if he was to get what he wanted.

            “I need to speak with Dr. Darling.” Ben muttered to the guard as he exited the dark door of his room.

            The guard’s eyebrow quirked upward as he looked deep into Ben’s fiery eyes before letting out a deep sigh. “You’ve been causing a lot of trouble, kid. You’re lucky the doctor is always open to talking to you guys.” The guard said as he walked Ben in the opposite direction of the television room.

            _Yes!_ Ben thought as he realized he was being taken to the doctor’s office. He then began to prepare his speech in his head, trying to come up with good reasons behind his intentions. Ben’s preparations were cut short as they made their way to the wooden door that read “Dr. Darling” across it. Ben scoffed to himself thinking about the man parading himself around as if he was a real doctor, not a madman who got his kicks from torturing children and at times having their dead bodies hauled off to the crematorium. The thought shot an icy shiver up Ben’s back. He would never give these fucks the privilege of taking his life and burning his body, never to be heard from again by his loved ones. In that moment he swore to himself that he would crumble this place to the ground and avenge every tortured soul that had unfortunately called this place home.

            “Hello number twenty-three, I heard you wished to speak to me.” The doctor’s sickeningly sweet voice rung in Ben’s ears as they entered his office. “Please take a seat.” He motioned to the cold grey chair that sat across from his wooden desk.

            Before taking a seat in the chair he gave a quick and cold glance at the guard who had brought him into the room. The doctor picked up and the boy’s subtle implication and motioned toward the door with his arm before speaking again.

            “Mr. Hut, you may stand guard outside. Thank you.” The doctor spoke, his eyes practically ordering him out of the room. The guard did as he was told, huffing and carrying his very large frame out the door. “Now, what did you want to speak to me about?” His eyes filled with excitement, this place filled him with complete joy.

            Ben let out a loud and shaky sigh before speaking, hoping with everything that he had that it wouldn’t come back and hurt Rey. “Re…Number twenty-two,” He managed to get out, his head hung down, avoiding any eye contact.

            He peered up to see the doctor’s eyebrows raise with interest, a sinister smile slithering over his face. Ben had peeked his interest and it caused knots in his stomach, hoping this wasn’t a mistake.

            “Continue.”

            “I have heard you and the other doctors talking about our powers each day. You seem to believe that our powers are mirror images of the other, that they grow and we learn new abilities at the same rate.” Ben whispered, but trying to appear confident as he sat up straighter in the chair.

            The doctor placed his hands in front of his mouth, still smiling with an animalistic air about him. He nodded, agreeing with Ben’s observation, encouraging him to continue

            “Well…” Ben continued, struggling to get his idea out. “If this is true…doesn’t it seem to be a waste of money and time to experiment on both of us?” Ben focused on the edge of the desk, afraid of the doctor’s response.

            After some silence, Ben grew the courage to look up at the doctor. When he looked up he saw the excitement had reached an all-time high as it danced in his eyes and across his lips. Ben cleared his throat as his lips started to tremble. Then the doctor’s expression became a frown before he let out a drawn out sigh, but before he spoke, a smaller smile came across his lips.

            “You care for that girl.” The man chuckled. “Pathetic children.” The man said while raking his fingers through his hair.

            For some reason, Ben had never felt as fearful as he did in that moment thus far. The last thing he wanted to do was cause any problems for Rey and he had gone and done just that, surely. What was he thinking?

            The doctor let out another sigh. “Well, you’ll be happy to hear that this benefits us both. We get more results out of you, you make quite the perfect test subject. The girl is very resilient and is tough as nails, but you seem more susceptible to our…practices.” The evil man chuckled out.

            A bit of relief filled Ben’s conscious knowing that he was succeeding in what he came to do, to protect Rey from as much harm as possible. The relief was short-lived as Ben’s body betrayed him, it began to shake right before the man on the other side of the desk, showing his weakness. The fucked up man was right, he was weak. Ben felt his emotions strongly and it showed through his actions as well as on his expressions. Each torture session usually resulted in his screams, tears, and explosion of his powers, it made him feel ashamed.

            “I’ll allow this. Her sessions will be shortened and yours will be longer.” The doctor said with a smug grin on his face.

            Not knowing where the confidence came from, Ben spoke up. “Then you’ll love this. On February 22nd, you have me as long as you want and let her have the day off.”

            The doctor’s smile on the doctor’s face grew ever so slightly at Ben’s words and confidence before leaning back in his chair, hands resting behind his head. “You got yourself a deal, kid.”

              Ben let out a shaky sigh of relief then stood from his seat looking over at the door. He made his way toward it before stopping at the sound of the doctor’s voice.

            “You came here wanting to increase your powers, did you not?” Before Ben could reply the doctor continued, “You thrive on your own. That girl is debilitated when she is on her own. She makes you weak. Keep that in mind when you consider whether or not you really want to maximize the potential of your powers. Otherwise, you’ll find that she’ll surpass you.” The doctor laughed, as an insult toward Ben.

            As much as it disgusted him, Ben knew it was true and he boiled with anger. Some seven year old girl wouldn’t show him up, he’d be sure of that. He cared for Rey, but he would reach this goal he had set out before himself. He would have nobody doubt his power ever again.

            After leaving the doctor’s office and being led to the nearest bathroom, all of Ben’s tightly-wound feelings of anxiety, fear, and anger came coursing out of him in the form of vomit as he emptied himself into the nearest toilet. What had he just agreed to? Ben didn’t regret his decision, but he had to brace himself for what was to come. He absolutely hated the torture sessions and he was about to experience a whole lot more of it. Ben breathed out hard and he let himself sink to the floor, sliding against the rough bathroom wall. He ran his hands through his long black hair as he thought about the girl who shared his powers and quickly a smile found his face.

            _It was worth it._

* * *

 

            Ben and Rey continued to be each other’s best friend and companion as the months became years. They talked every chance they could throughout the day and stayed up late at night, connecting their minds and speaking of their hopes and dreams of the future. They talked about the places they wished to go and the things that scared them about leaving the place they resided in the past couple years. Things would no doubt have changed during their stay there and that was terrifying.  

            It was December 21st, the day before Ben’s thirteenth birthday. Rey and Ben were completely oblivious of what that meant until they returned to their rooms for the evening with Ben arriving sometime after Rey, as always. Rey had started assuming that his sessions started later than hers, though she often wondered why hers were shortened years back, but just left the thought behind, finding herself thankful.

            When Rey felt the comforting tingle of electricity jolt through her system a smile spread across her face. This was her favorite part of the day, though she didn’t get to see Ben’s face, she got to speak with him endlessly about anything and everything. Rey then danced her way to her bed and leaped in like a giddy teenager. She crossed her legs and held her pillow tightly to her chest.

            The overjoyed smile on Rey’s face quickly dissipated once she felt the gloomy aura hanging thick in the air. Her brows furrowed and she brought her palm to the wall that separated their rooms, that damn wall.

            _“Ben. Are you okay?”_ Rey reached out, offering him a comforting warmth to her voice. Ben took his time before replying, every moment Rey grew more and more concerned.

            _“Tomorrow is my thirteenth birthday…”_  Ben managed to get out, sounding completely defeated. Maybe he had a rough session?

            _“I know! That’s something to be excited and happy about right?”_ Rey said like her usual bubbly self with only a hint of confusion to join it.

            Despite the sadness in the air coming for the room next to hers, she heard and felt Ben let out a light chuckle. _“You would say something like that with so much positivity.”_ He said warmly, the sadness only faltering briefly and slightly. Rey realized something must seriously be wrong. _“I was told today that when you turn thirteen you join the teenager group…”_

            The words hit Rey in the gut and she just sat with mouth hanging open, struggling to find words. Her lip started to quiver and she brought her hand up to meet it, hoping not to bring attention to the fact that she was about to start sobbing.

            _“Don’t cry, Rey. Please.”_ Ben pleaded with so much sadness oozing from his own voice, he could always tell how she was feeling. _“I will talk to you every night.”_ His voice cracking, but he tried to be the rock she needed right now.

            Realizing that she was making Ben worry about her on top of his own grief over the situation, Rey rubbed away the tears with her sleeve before cracking a joke. _“Hey, at least I haven’t cried since you told me the story of becoming an older brother!”_ Rey laughed, trying to dampen the sadness they were both feeling.

            It worked, as she felt the warmth Ben was exuding. She savored the moment as she took in the sound of his light-hearted laugh

            _“You did blubber like a baby.”_ Ben teased.

            _“It was the most beautiful story I’ve ever heard! Your mom sounds like the most amazing woman and she deserved the miracle of having your little sister.”_ Rey could feel tears welling in her eyes again at the thought of it, but shook her head to stop them from flowing.

            _“My mom really was amazing…I really took it all for granted.”_ Ben let out a shaky sigh. Rey could feel the sting of tears welling in his eyes now.

            _“You have such an amazing family. Having been adopted, I’m sure people expected you to be jealous and angry that your mom got pregnant with your little sister. You’re a great brother.”_ Rey said, hoping to soothe Ben’s aching heart.

            _“I was jealous…but only until the gender reveal. When I saw the pink icing and the picture of her…I loved her. I loved being a brother and helped my mom as much as I could…I miss them.”_ Rey could practically feel the cold tear running down his cheek on her own cheek.

            _“I can’t wait to meet them.”_ Rey smiled and she felt warm inside at the thought of meeting the people that raised the boy she was growing up with. She could feel the warmth of a smile returned from Ben before he changed the subject.

            _“Speaking of you blubbering like a baby…only babies have nightmares about clowns.”_ Ben picked fun at her over the dream they shared that night.

            The two found themselves in each other’s dreams every now and again. It was usually pretty obvious whose dream it was, like Rey’s dream the night prior. Rey had dreamed she was stuck in a fun house of a haunted house with various clowns with razor sharp teeth chasing her around. When Ben appeared beside her to join in the game of hide and seek she felt a lot more at ease, like she knew if it came down to it he would protect her.

              _“Clowns are scary Ben!”_ Rey chuckled, tears of laughter flooding her eyes.

            They continued to talk as though everything was the same and they hadn’t just been dealt the worst news. They laughed their way well into the night until they mutually agreed that they needed to get some sleep. Both tossed and turned, finding it hard to sleep. The anxiety of the day ahead of them ate at their tired bodies, keeping sleep always at arms-length.

            Rey’s thoughts began to torment her, but she waited patiently for Ben to find sleep before letting her brain wonder. Once she sensed his body taken by slumber, she let herself feel. She wished she had known that today was the last time she’d see Ben’s face for years until she also turned thirteen. She would have taken it in and remembered every last detail of his face. She finally let the tears fall and she sobbed into her hands until she couldn’t cry any longer

            Her eyes, puffy and red, she managed three little words, knowing full well they wouldn’t be heard. _“I’ll miss you.”_

 

* * *

 

            December 22nd, Ben’s thirteenth birthday was here. Most would be spending their thirteenth birthday’s telling their parents they don’t need a kiddie birthday party with clowns and piñatas, they were finally a teenager, a time to be taken seriously. While most would be eating cake and spending time with family and friends, opening a mountain of presents, Ben was about to explore his new reality of what being a teen in this hell hole meant, without his best friend Rey.

            Ben and Rey exchanged their ‘good lucks’ and went on with their days. As soon as Ben left the solace of his bedroom he was walked down the opposite direction of the hall he was used to walking when he started his day. They walked by numerous other bedrooms, the colors a sickeningly irony of bright and happy colors in such a cold and unforgiving place. Ben and his guard made their way into an elevator and descended to the third floor, the floor Ben came to realize was the medical floor. He found the very thought they even had a medical floor considering how many lives had been lost in his time of being in this facility were mind boggling.

            They passed the tattoo parlor and made an immediate stop at the room just next to it, a room Ben had never been to in his years of being here. When they entered he wasn’t the least bit surprised to see a medical chair in the center of the room, it seemed every room in the damn place had one. Once Ben looked around the room, he got a feel for what it was used for. On one of the walls he saw a poster with rows and rows of letters that grew smaller in size the lower on the poster they got. Near the chair in the middle of the room was an optic examination machine.

            _An eye exam? Really?_ Ben scoffed as the guard shoved him into the chilly medical chair and began to tighten the restraints.

            A man that fit the description of tall, dark, and handsome to perfection entered the room wearing a pristine lab coat and a pair of black thick-rimmed glasses. The optometrist no doubt. Ben watched the man suspiciously as he had given him a genuine smile.

            “Happy birthday kid! We’ll be fitting you for a mask today.” The man beamed with genuine positivity.

            _Ah._

Ben knew exactly what they were doing. The people here did their best to strip away his freedom, his life, his future, and now they were going to take away his identity. He didn’t have to ask any questions to know that was what this was, that they wanted him to be as far from a relatable human-being as possible.

            Ben watched as the man pulled out what looked like a virtual headset, almost like a helmet. The doctor got Ben’s measurements and after what was possibly an hour of adjustments, his mask was complete. The doctor placed the smooth charcoal helmet onto Ben’s head, it covered his head completely, only leaving his face exposed. At the top of the helmet, where his ears lay beneath, stuck out what Ben would call wings or fins.

            The doctor gave Ben a satisfied smile, “Perfect! Fits like a glove!” The man then reached an arm out and pressed a button under one of the wings.

            The button activated what seemed to be a particle visor on the helmet that covered the rest of his face, only leaving his lips and chin exposed. Ben only assumed that while he could see through the visor, that whoever looked at him wouldn’t be able to see what’s behind it.

            Ben came to the startling reality as they gave undid his restraints, this meant when Rey was thirteen he wouldn’t see her face and she wouldn’t see his. He didn’t know how long they’d be wearing these monsters called masks. He squeezed his eyes shut, wishing he had taken more time to memorize her face. The thought dampened his spirit throughout his whole day.

            Once he joined the rest of the teens he noticed they had more guards watching over them and that the other teens also wore their own color-coordinated masks, probably going along with the color schemes of their rooms. It seemed they were more worried about uprising as they got older. Surely to their relief, Ben kept to himself.

            The day didn’t carry out in the same fashion as it had only the day before, the order of events was jumbled and the teens were also separated into doing miscellaneous chores. As Ben vacuumed the kid room he had been to just about every day since he arrived, he came to the consensus that them having a set routine only to have it dramatically changed the day they turned thirteen was no doubt another way of torturing them.

            Ben let out a long drawn out sigh as he tried to remember Rey’s face exactly. At least he would never forget those eyes, who could? Just as his mind had wondered to Rey he noticed a little stuffed bear hidden behind a stack of kid’s books. Once he had the bear pulled out he quickly made the connection that it was Rey’s. He looked around, once he was sure nobody was looking he stuffed the toy down his pants. As weird as it seemed, he knew she would appreciate it someday. As he continued to clean he let his mind stay on Rey, he wondered how she was doing on her first day without him.

 

* * *

 

            Rey laid flat on her bed, limbs splayed out, she had arrived long before Ben like always, impatiently waiting. She wondered how Ben’s day went, butterflies tickling her stomach anxiously. She was hoping any moment she would feel that familiar static jolt through her system as she stared longingly at the ceiling above. Just as the thoughts crowded Rey’s mind, her wish came true, the lovely warmth spreading through her limbs.

            Ben was back! Rey rose to her knees like an excited kid on Christmas and placed his palms against the wall connecting their rooms. She could feel that his day was rough, she bit her lip wondering how to approach the situation.

            _“Hey. Rough day?”_  Rey asked, trying not to let the smile on her face slip away at his sadness.

            _“Yeah…”_ Was all he could muster.

            Rey could tell he was feeling defeated. Usually when one of them was feeling especially down they talked about what they’d do when they got out.

            _“Will you hold my hand when you take me ice skating?”_ Rey smiled at the idea of Ben skating in an ice rink. Rey could feel his energy warming around her, it was working.

            _“Ew, I’m not going to hold hands with you, you wiener.”_ Ben laughed back. After a quick moment of silence he continued, _“Thank you.”_

            Rey smiled brightly before thinking about all the new people he probably met today. _“You make any friends?”_

            Ben scoffed at the idea. _“C’mon Rey. You know I’m a loner.”_

            Rey knew, but something ate at her that she never felt before. What was it? _“Any cute girls?”_ Just like that, Rey instantly regretted her words. Where did that come from? Rey shuddered just thinking about what he may say.

            A moment of silence chilled the air, only the increasing heat of Rey’s face threatened to warm it. Rey felt sick, the green monster growling in her gut as her face burnt with utter humiliation.

            _“I wouldn’t know. We all have to wear masks.”_ Rey sensed no anger in his voice, only amusement? _“You jealous kid?”_ He chuckled teasingly.

            If Rey thought she was hot before she had no idea what this sweat-inducing sauna on her face was. _“Yeah right!”_ She sputtered.

            _Kid? Who’s he calling kid?_ She thought angrily to herself. She’d show him how wrong he was when she saw him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was my longest chapter so far! Holy moly! Hope you enjoyed chapter four! :) There will be more time jumping next time. Prepare for a little smut next chapter ;) Feel free to let me know what you thought! Till next time!


	5. Puberty Never Looked So Good

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Ben are reunited after years apart only to find that they have changed. They sfimd themselves against a new enemy: sexual tension.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I try to limit my warnings and tags; I would like to avoid spoiling anything for readers. There will certainly be torture (including torture of children), violence (this is a superhero universe), death, and eventual sexually explicit content (aye, we all do it).
> 
> Chapter five contains a smidge of smut. This is not a drill.

* * *

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Chapter five: Puberty Never Looked So Good

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[](https://ibb.co/eDZmNT)   


 

The day had finally come, Rey and Ben had waited just over three years for this day. Rey was turning thirteen today. Though the two still spoke every night, they were finally going to see each other.

Things had definitely changed over the years, mostly in the physical sense of the word. Rey stood looking in the mirror at her reflection and smiled widely, she had gone through growth spurts and was much taller now. She lifted her sweatshirt and looked at the delicate white stretch marks that caressed her hips, all the proof she needed of her blossoming into a woman. The flatness that used to be her chest was replaced with breasts that were growing with each day.

Rey briefly thought about the day she had started her period and how stupidly excited she was. She was eleven when it had happened and in the moment she was overjoyed, feeling like she had become a woman. That feeling was quickly dashed when the cramps made themselves known. When she had come back that evening Ben sensed her pain and with so much concern asked if she was alright. A simple ‘oh’ was all he could respond when she told him why she was hurting. Rey chuckled at the memory, thinking about how awkwardly he took the news.

She found herself wondering if that wavered his stubborn opinion that she was still a kid. Every day since Ben turned thirteen, he hadn’t failed to tell Rey that she was still a kid to him. The thought had driven Rey crazy and has become a sore spot, being told she was still a child threw her in to a fiery rage. She had to grow up the moment she came to this place. On her first Christmas here Ben apologized to her that Santa didn’t find them, she laughed right in his face. As a psychic user she was intelligent, she didn’t remember a time when she ever believed in Santa Clause. They both had a good laugh about it.

Butterflies started to flutter in her stomach as she thought about seeing Ben again. She had long decided she wouldn’t deny that fact that she liked him, like a lot. Too bad he only looked at her like the kid he was always trying to protect. Rey let out a sigh and straightened her clothing, she would make him see she wasn’t a child anymore, she’d make sure of it.

 

* * *

 

Ben was riddled with nervous energy as he fiddled with his thumbs, eyes darting around the room looking for _her_. Even though he was fully aware that she was likely being fitted for her helmet, he looked around with bated breath. Why was he so anxious? It was just Rey, the same Rey he talked to every day, the kid he had known for so many years. Ben peered into the wide mirror on the wall in the cafeteria, wondering if she would recognize him. Puberty hit him hard and fast becoming a teen, he was taller, a lot taller. The added height brought him relief, Rey had started to catch up him the last time he saw her, but there was no way she would be anywhere near as tall as him.

Ben started to feel relieved that Rey hadn’t seen him the past couple years, he had shot up in height and had become a gangly thing, but he worked hard and put on the muscle mass to balance out his frame. Even though he was confident in the work he had done on his body the butterflies still tickled away at his insides, wondering how Rey had changed during their time apart. Ben poked his oatmeal with his spoon, too anxious to take even the smallest bite. He fiddled with his long black locks that stuck out of his helmet before taking a look around one last time. What was he doing? He knew he’d feel her before she arrived.

As those thoughts passed through his head he felt that familiar static surge through his body, causing him to shiver with excitement. He heard the double doors open to the cafeteria behind him, though he was elated to see her again, he couldn’t bring himself to look back. He clenched his eyes shut and let out a shaky sigh as he felt a warm and familiar hand rest on his shoulder.

Ben shot his head in the direction of the source, expecting to meet the one-of-a-kind eyes of the girl he called his best friend only to be met with the image of a light pink particle visor. _Damn masks._ Despite the pure white helmet on her head, he knew it was her, his Rey. A smile flashed onto his lips in unison with her own.

“Ben! I almost didn’t recognize you!” Rey practically belted out. Everyone turned to look at what was causing such a commotion.

Noticing she caught the attention of a guard, Rey took a seat next to Ben, being cautious not to sit too closely. “Sorry.” She murmured with an unapologetic smile.

Ben was trying to get himself together, taking it all in. She had changed so much in the time that they spent apart. Ben could practically feel the pink color covering his ears as the thoughts came into his head. She was taller, though he still had her very much beat there. She…had curves and as hard as he tried not to think about it, he saw that her breasts were developing at a great rate. _A great rate? You fuckin’ perv!_ Ben struggled with the thoughts bopping through his brain, trying hard to blame the testosterone.

“You’re so frickin’ tall! And look at all the muscle you have!” Rey poked at his biceps as discreetly as she could before pressing a warm hand to it.

Ben gulped as he fought off the burning sensation that threatened his cheeks. Dear God, he was already struggling, what was she doing to him? The feelings Ben had tried so hard to fight off won in a glorious sweep of power as he felt himself stiffen in his pants. Why? Why was he wearing sweatpants?

_Not now! Not now!!_

Rey kept her hand gently pressed to his arm as she spoke, “I guess we really aren’t kids anymore are we?” A warm smile spread upon her plump lips.

Ben bit his lip as he looked at her lips and just as he did, like a guardian angel looking out for him, the guards blew their whistle and he jumped from his spot, using the lunch tray to hide what he had hidden bellow.

“I don’t know you’re still a kid to me!” Ben teased as he ran from her as fast as he could, wobbling awkwardly the whole way.

 

 

* * *

 

When it was time for gym Rey was fighting off the anger of being called a kid once again. Couldn’t he see that she was no longer a small helpless child? She was a young woman and she needed him to see that if she was ever to have any sort of romantic relationship with him. Could they have one? Is that what she wanted? _Yes._ She thought, she did want that. She wasn’t some little girl with a crush anymore, she cared about him.

Rey watched as Ben swung his weapon at the dummy in front of him, his tight muscles tensing with each swing. Rey felt it for the first time in that moment as she ogled the muscles of Ben’s arms in his tight black tank top: attraction. She cared for him so much on an emotional level, but seeing him as the beast of a growing man before her, she became weak in the knees. It was all she needed for motivation to prove to him once and for all that she wasn’t a child.

Rey made her way to the practice dummies and as soon as Ben halted his actions and looked in her direction she slid her sweatshirt off slowly to reveal her snug charcoal tank top. Rey glanced in Ben’s direction under her lashes and basked in the obvious shock he emitted at her actions. She let out a breath and began to let out her frustrations on the dummy before her. Ben hadn’t been the only one who practiced, Rey worked hard every day to keep up with him, evident in her toned physique. She felt Ben’s state up on her for only a few seconds longer before he continued his assault on the dummy beside her.

The tension grew through some unspoken competitive fire between the two. They swung away at the dummies, sweat gleaming along their well-formed bodies. They continued on that way till Rey made another swing at the dummy only for her staff to make contact with that of another. She looked over and saw Ben’s staff pressed against hers, a devilish smile gracing his face.

Returning the smile, Rey spoke up, “Oh, you wanna go, Benny boy?” She ate up the idea of kicking his butt.

The two, perfectly matched, swung away in a sparring match that almost appeared to be a dance, two partners perfectly in sync. When Rey started to wear down ever so slightly she used her mind to trip up his footing and thrusted at him with all her might. Ben only glanced down at his feet, filled with surprise, for a matter of seconds before deflecting her blow. When Rey looked back up at him she noticed the heart-melting smile on his face.

“You little cheater!” He accused without the slightest hint of disapproval. “Two can play at that game!” He started to use his powers now too, to playfully push her around as the sparring match commenced.

They kept unwavering smiles on their faces the whole match as they tried as hard as they could to make the other slip up. Finally when they were both able to get a hit in, getting each other ever so lightly on the shoulder, the guard’s whistle blew. Just like that, the sexual tension became apparent, though they could not see each other’s eyes, the want was there. The tension was thick around them as their breaths heaved heavily through their lips, sweat running down their bodies, and their staffs resting gently on the other.

“You two! Get a move on!” The guard threatened.

“See you later, kid.” Ben managed to get out.

The duo finally separated and put away their equipment, drying their sweat drenched bodies with a towel. They let their gaze wander to each other one last time before being taken down opposite paths down the hall, neither being able to say another word, not out loud nor through their minds.

 

* * *

 

Rey, back in her room, laid on her bed staring into the mirrored wall next to her bed. _What was that tension?_ She kept thinking to herself as butterflies tickled her stomach and the unfamiliar feeling of attraction threatened her now radiating thighs. Rey knew after that interaction that he didn’t look at her like some kid, but after those last words he spoke, she would shut him down for the last time when he got back.

Like every one of her birthdays, the doctors took mercy on her and left her without a torture session. The wait killed her as her warmth in her thighs only made the wait-game more excruciating. The night grew late as she imagined the scene she had witnessed firsthand. How the sweat drenched Ben’s being, creating a glistening warrior right before her eyes. She let her mind wander to the thoughts of his beautiful black mane threatening to escape the blasted helmet that stole his fiery gaze from her. The thought of his muscled body caused Rey to bite her lip with much anticipation. Suddenly the warm glow of static only threatened to heighten Rey’s desires.

He was back, she could feel his exhausted energy in the air, but that wasn’t going to stop her from achieving her goal. The confidence within was at an all-time high as she let her hand wander down to the aching place between her legs. Rey had never done this before and as taboo as people made it out to be, it felt every bit natural to her.

Opening her mind for Ben to hear, she let out a soft moan from her mouth as she ran her fingers gently across the warmness radiating from through her pants. She could feel Ben’s shock at the sound, no doubt wondering what the noise was. Rey was going to make certain that he knew exactly what it was. Rey’s cheeks flushed lightly, not from embarrassment, but from the excitement and the sweet sweet pleasure of what she was experiencing.

As if by second nature, Rey grabbed at the plush unassuming blanket from the end of the bed and bundled it between her legs. Rey felt a sudden shock of unexpected pleasure as the blanket rested against her, her excitement soaring. Once Rey found herself in a relaxed position for the long-haul, she began to rub away.

She had never felt anything like it before, as unexpected waves of pleasure twitched throughout her body whenever she found that sweet spot, her seemingly dainty hands becoming rough powerhouses blessing her with sweet release. The feeling of Ben’s clearly stunned, yet shamefully pleased aura gave Rey that extra bit of confidence and thrill. Rey never forgot to include Ben in this, as each and every moan and soft sigh was with him in her mind.

Rey could feel her arms ache with exertion as sweat slowly built up on her chest and the creases of her limbs. She was getting close. She pumped and pumped her exhausted arms against the place that seemed to bring her that much needed pleasure. Then suddenly, what had been building up deep within her came to an exhilarating peak.

She had never felt anything like it and she didn’t know how anyone could find something so enjoyable to be so shameful. Rey let out a high-pitched squeal of complete ecstasy followed by the desperate sound of Ben’s name as her whole body warmed and shook with a heightened release. Still panting and riding out her first orgasm, she continued to rub lightly, a smile crossing her face.

She was satisfied. Satisfied by her release, as well as the aura Ben was letting off. There was no doubt in her mind that she wasn’t a child to him any longer, and no doubt that he would be looking for his own release after hearing every moan and the soft sound of his name on her lips. Rey sighed joyously and rolled in to a comfortable position, exhausted and ready for bed. A smug smile came across her face once more.

_“Goodnight, Ben.”_ Was all she said before closing off their bond and letting sleep take over her.

 

* * *

 

The next year was filled with sexual tension. Rey and Ben mercilessly teased each other’s clear attraction for the other, though they never talked about it and acted as though it wasn’t happening. They wore as little clothes as they could given their situation. Though they didn’t speak of the elephant in the room, their conversations were more personal and meaningful.

_“To think, there are girls out there with boyfriends and I’m just sitting in here having no experience whatsoever.”_ Rey ranted to Ben as they talked away, per their nightly routine.

Rey could hear Ben’s teasing laughter in the air around her before he replied, _“No experience whatsoever? You haven’t even kissed a guy?”_ Ben asked as though it was so unbelievable.

_“Of course not! I’ve been here since right before I turned 7, Ben! I wasn’t some little hoe!”_ Rey laughed at the notion, slightly thrown off by his surprise. _“Wait…does that mean you have?”_ Rey asked as the green monster inside her tried to weasel its way out from within.

_“Don’t be jealous.”_ Ben said, his words oozing with confidence. Rey’s face flushed. Did she really exude that much jealous energy? She’d have to work on hiding that better.

_“I most definitely am not jealous!”_ Rey retorted, not even convincing herself.

_“It’s not what you think.”_ Ben responded with a chuckle, his voice clearly more light-hearted and kind. _“It’s a silly story, honestly.”_

_“If it gives me more ammunition to make fun of you, I’m all ears!”_ Rey laughed, _“I must know who stole your first kiss!”_

_“Okay! Okay! You’ll feel really silly for being jealous in a second.”_ Ben teased before continuing his story, _“My parents had a lot of friends, so naturally we went to a lot of get-togethers. So there was this girl, she was the daughter of friends of my parents. We grew up together and always played when there was a get-together.”_ Rey felt a sting of jealousy at that moment, but tried to wave it off.

_“So, at one of these get-togethers, we were both four at the time, we always saw our parents making out with one another. Figuring that’s what adults do, we decided to try it out. We made out for a good solid minute before our parents found us and tore us apart.”_ Rey laughed out loud at the story for a moment before letting Ben continue. _“I know! It’s silly! So our parents freak out and we tell them why we did it. Our parents laugh, but tell us not to do it anymore. I don’t actually remember it, but my parents love telling the story.”_ Rey could practically feel Ben roll his eyes.

_“That story is honestly so great. I hope mine is that good…”_ Rey mumbled, embarrassment spreading across her face.

She then felt a warmth coming from Ben. _“It will be. I’ll be sure of that.”_ Only adding to the redness of her face.

Rey desperately tried to change the subject. _“What is your first memory?”_ She asked, genuinely curious.

_“Oh, that’s an easy question. The day my powers became known, it’s as clear as day.”_ Ben spoke with so much joy and pride in his abilities. _“Though at the time I couldn’t do much, just floating objects off of surfaces slightly, I was so excited. My parents had told me that I had always wanted to be a superhero and help those that needed it most. In that moment, I knew I could do just that. I focused my mind and floated a glass of milk off the counter, once my mom entered the room it surprised me and it came crashing to the kitchen floor.”_ Ben chuckled fondly at the memory.

_“I don’t have a power-realization story. My parents told me that I seemed to always have had them. They started weaker and grew over time, of course. It sounds like we both have had them as far back as we can remember though!”_ Rey smiled at the connection she shared with Ben. _“When did your powers come to you?”_

Rey felt a sense of uneasiness coming from Ben, suddenly. Had she said something she shouldn’t have?

 

* * *

 

Ben thought for a moment, unsure if he should tell her the date of his powers coming to him. He had put much thought into it himself, wondering if it was a coincidence or if they were really connected somehow. Ben never told Rey this, but for the past year the doctors have been harassing him about Rey. Taunting him and attempting to turn him against her. The thing that made him feel worse than not telling her was the fact that it got to him at times, he was jealous of her, and at times angry that they were ruthlessly compared to one another.

Ben’s powers came about on February 22nd, the day Rey was born, when he was only three years old. The doctors theorized that they were connected the moment Rey was born and that if not for her, he would be powerless. It made Ben feel guilt, but the theories made him angry. The thought that he wouldn’t be who he was and what he was without Rey drove him up a wall. There was no way he could tell her that the doctors have gotten into his head, but he would tell her the significance of that date.

_“February 22nd , two months after my third birthday.” _Ben mumbled in response to Rey’s question.

Ben could feel the shock in the air as Rey processed to the new information. _“Holy cow, that’s when I was born!”_ Rey blurted out excitedly, clearly not having the same struggle with their connection that he had. _“This can’t be a coincidence! Maybe we really are connected by our powers to each other?”_

Ben could feel the confusing swirl of his emotions within at her words. He felt his blood boiling at the thought of his powers being null and void without Rey, but also feeling comfort in the idea of being so deeply tied to someone through these powers, especially someone he cared deeply for. In the end, guilt won out and Ben frowned before giving Rey a reply, trying to force some positivity into his voice, _“Perhaps.”_

Ben huffed out a breath of frustrated air before getting comfortable in his bed. Knowing full well that sleep was going to be hard to find this night, he spoke up again, _“I’m gonna hit the sack. I’m assuming it’s midnight by now, so, happy fourteenth birthday.”_

Rey smiled brightly. _“Happy power-realization day! Goodnight Ben.”_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y’all enjoyed the chapter! I certainly enjoyed writing it! :) The time jumping doesn’t end here. Where is their relationship headed? Feel free to let me know what you thought! Till next time!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed the story so far! This is my very first time posting something like this so please feel free to let me know what you think! Thank you for taking the time to read! :)


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